Floating frame



July 22 1924. 1,502,199

F'. HoDKlNsoN FLOATING FRAME Filed July 19 1919 g- V ,N TOR.

y35 isfactory for the powers now encountered, piIlOIl are .IDOuIltediDEQ/parat@ but Xally Patented July 22, i924. i f' 'if S'TTES PATENTQFFICE.

FRANCIS HODGKINSON, OF EDGEWOOD, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TOvVVES'IINGrI-IOUSE GEAR @a DYNAMOMETER COMPANY, A CORFORATION OFEENNSYLVANIA.

y morirme snai/rn.

Appueetioa tied July 1s, 1319. serial 1re-311,971.

To all whom 'it may concern.' pendently of each other, in distributingthe Be it known that I, FRANCIS HoDeKINsoN, load uniformly along thelength of the teeth. a subject of the King of Great Britain and `Theserand other objects which will be Ireland, and a resident of Edgewood, inthe made apparent throughout the further de- '5 county of Allegheny andState of Pennscriptionfof my invention, are attained by 60 Sylvania,have made a new and useful invenmeans. of apparatus embodying thefeaures tion in Floating Frames, of which the folherein described andillustrated in the draw-` lowing is a specification. ings accompanyingand forming a part This invention relates to gearing of the hereof.fioating frame type. f 1 f In thefdrawings: Figi is a diagrammatic l65The floating frame gear is f well known. sectionalview, along the lineI-I of Fig. 2, It fundamentally consists of two interand illustrates anarrangement of appameshing gears, one of which is journaled inratuslbdyng Imy ylflVPIitlO'Il: v rigid bearings, and the other of whichis Fig-.2 is a Sectional View along the broken l5 journaled inafica-ting frame. The purpose line II-II ofgFig. 1. 70 of the floatingframe is toallow one ofthe f Referring to Figure l, a two part piniongears, for` example, a pinion, to have a slight 5, 5 is mounted .in sucha manner that they angular `motion sufficient to compensate for twopartsmay move as a whole or independdistortion (due, for example, totorsional deently of each other in order to compensate fiection of thepinion), and to thereby mainfor torsional A distortion, defiection,slight 75 tain an even 'distribution of pressure misalignment or othercause which detrithroughout the length of the intermeshing mentallyaffects the operation of gears emteeth. ployed in transmitting largepower. As dia- Gearing for ytransmitting large power is grammaticallyshown in Fig. 2, the pinion usually of the `douhle 'helical type, thatis, 5,5 is adapted to transmit power to a large 80 the teeth are in theform of helices and are ygear 6 with which thepinion meshes. It will,divided into two oppositely inclined sets so of course, be understoodthat in the apparatus that the end thrust occasioned by one set isillustrated the tetll 0f the gear 6 31"@ llSO counterbalanced bythethrust occasioned by dlVdGdIltO tWO SGtS, elGll 0f WllCll IHGSllGS sothe other Set, In the Hoating frame type 0f with one of the'sets ofteethformed on the 85 gearing the angular movement of the oattwo part pinion,but that the two sets of ing gear of course varies the position oftheteeth of the gear are rigidly SBGUIed tO- axis of both sets of teethforming a part of getllrthat gear. While such a construction is sat- ASillustratedv the two parts 5,' 5 of the the ever increasing size andpower offturallglidflames f7, 7, which, in turn, are bines and otherpower developing apparatus mOunted OnoppOSt-e ends 0f a tllld Mldnecessitates further improvement of the larger frame' 8. AS illustratedeach frame gearing in order that a more effective comis mounted'` onaflexible support such as an `.40 pensation for distortion or defiectionmay be lbeam. AS shown, each of the floating 95 obtained. n frames 7 -7vis separately mounted enashort An object of my invention is to produceSection,y ofan I-beam 9, which ,extends a gearingin which a more uniformdistrithrough suitable/openings 10, formed in a bution of the loadthroughout the length web portion of the frame. In the appa- A of thegear teeth is obtained than is posratus illustrated,.each I-,beam 9ismounted 100 sible with known forms of gearing. f on a pedestallLwhich,as shown, supports A further object is to'produce a new land theends ofthe beam .andl subtendS a flange improved l arrangement Yof ioatingframes 7a, forming apart of the frame. The pedwhich permits each set ofteeth of a gear estals 11 are mounted lon opposite ends of (.50 orpinion to have an independent compenthe fioating frame 8., Asillustrated, the 105 sating or self-adjusting movement. f floating frame8 is mounted onV a centrally A further object is to produce a new `andlocated I-beaml2 which extends through an improved arrangement 'ofearing whereby opening formed in a web 13 of the frame 8 the two halvesof a divide gear or pinion and which may be' mounted on the bed platomay move as a whole or may move inde- 12a of the gearing. A110 mountedinthe oatngiframe Tj-71. Eaenl and to restrict their movement to aplaneV substantially atright anglesto'the yplane and the axes ofthe gearset. Tliefouter endsof the struts 14 may rest in suitable sockets in thegear casing, not shown, and means may be employed for adjusting theposition of the struts.

As illustrated, each pinion half, -5 is provided with intewrally'formedournals 15, located on each 'sidel of the pinion half, andv mounted in,bearingsld These bearings'are pinion hal-f and its journal is hollow,not only for the purpose' of reducing. the weight, but also for' thepurpose' of permitting the use'of long flexible drive shafts withoutdetracting from the compact'ness of the installlation. The power to betransmitted is delivered to a sliaft 17" which, as illustrated, eXtendsthrough the hollow journals 15 and the hollowlpini'on half 5 tothe innerend of the inner journal Of'thefhalf 5. The shaft 17 is rigidly securedto this'journal by means of a suitable flange 18. A s' shown, the

lin'ion half 5 is drivenv by meansy of a' shaft 17 which is secured tothe flange 18 and which extends through its hollow interior to the outerend of the outer journal 15, .to which it is secured by means of a'flange' 18. The' flexible drive permits the floating frames 7-7 to pivotabout their respective I-beams 9 so that each gear half may .move

,independendyto dinerentengular positions'.

In additionto this, both gear halves may move together to ,differentangular positions because the frame 8 is mounted on a flexible supportor is capable of Heating; As a result 'this construction Vgives a maxi'-mum compensation for distortion and de'- flection. t Y

While I have illustrated and described but one embodiment of myinvention, itwill be apparent that various changes and modi'- fications,may be made in the apparatus herein illustrated and that the inventionmay be employed in connection with-the intermediate pinion of a doublereduction gearing or with the driven gear of a single or doublereduction gearing' without departing' from the spirit and scope of theinvention as set forth by the appended claims.

I Claim is n n 1. a reduction gearing, a gear having two sets of'opposite'ly inclined gear teeth formed nuefeicm,y `Seeond gear meshingtherewith and formed .in two parte, each part having a set of gear teethformed thereon and meshing with one of the sets of, gear 'teeth vformedon the first mentioned gear, a fieXible driving connection between thetwo parts of the second gear, a separate 'flating' frame in whichV eachpart 'of lie second gear is journaled, and a' floating i'ng frame type,gear members, floating frames in which the gear members are mounted, anda floating' frame onwhich'y said first mentioned floating frames a-re'mounted?.

4. In ,ay reduction gear, the combination of aXially-aline'd drivingvgear mei'ibers;v a; single supporting frame for eachl of the" drivinggear members,- andE independent' flex'- ible supporting means'v fortheframes'. Y

`5". Gearing having a gear'memberdivded into parts, andmountingpm'e'an's for said parts for permitting independent movements ofVeach part, and of the member as a whole, to compensate fordefieotio'.ns.'`

6; lin a gear set, a pinion divided into' a plurality of parts,fleirible Vdriving means for saidf parts; a separatefioatingf frame forVeach 'of said parts, and a 'floating 'frame on which said'- firstmentionedk ioating 'frames are mounted. n i 7. ln a reduction gear,thecombination of a two-partpinion, a mounting 'therefor comprising' afloating frame for each peet, and a third floating frame on which thefirst Amentioned' floating' frames' are mounted, the arrangement beingsu'c'h that the pinion ma@ move as a whole or the parts: may moveindependently of one' another in compensating for deflections.

8; In a reduction gear, thecombination of a' plurality of axially'alined pinion frames', a main frame'belowY the vpinion frames', andflexible supporting vmeans, for me main frame and between the pinionlmairi frames for' the pinion frames.

9'. n a reduction gear, `the 'combination ojf plurality of axiallyaline'd pinion frames, a main' frame, and l-beafm supports for' the mainiframe' vand ybetween the pinion main frames for the pin-ion frames.

10. 'In a reduction gear', the combination of a plurality of pinionframes having 'axially valineld bearings, pinions having :journallportions fitting' in the bearings, Heini-ble driving ymeans connectedto one of t'hejournalportions of each of the pinions, yan'd'fle-X- iblesupporting means for the ,pinion frames.

11. In gearing' of theeharacter deseribed,

eoaeting gears, each ofsaid gearsncluding a pair of sections hav'nggear'teeth,"the gear 'teeth of the sections of one of said gears meshingVwith the Agear 'teeth 'of the `otlfier of saidgears, the separatesections Off one ofsaid gears being hollow' kand iiexibly 'connected, vaseparate lbearing foreach of said hollow sections, a lrking framecarrying each of said bearings, and separate means a gear includingsections having gear teeth, 15

for resiliently resisting rocking movement of each of said frames.

12. In gearing of the character described, a flexible drive shaft, ahollow sleeve pinion including separate sections, a coupling flangeconnecting each of said sections with said flexible drive shaft, a gearincluding sections operatively engaged with said pinion sections, and arocking frame carrying each of said pinion sections, and means forresiliently resisting rocking movement of each of said frames'. e

13. In gearing of the character described,

a hollow sleeve pinion including separate flexibly connected sections,the sections of the pinion having gear teeth meshing with the gear teethof the sections of the gear, a bearing for each of the sections of thehollow sleeve pinion, a movable frame for each of said bearings, andfseparate means for resiliently resisting movement of each of saidframes.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 17th dayof July,

FRANCIS I-IODGrKINSON.` y

